Summer Show 2021

The Royal Society of Sculptors annual Summer Show returns, featuring a curated selection of works from members and fellows.

The 2021 Summer Show has been curated by Sigrid Kirk inspired by the possibility of a new exuberant era for the arts. Drawing a parallel between the 1920s and 2020s, Sigrid Kirk looks to the years following World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic as inspiration for a manic flight into sociability. 

The Roaring Twenties, also known as the ‘Années folles’ (crazy years), were marked by social, artistic and cultural dynamism. There was a sense of novelty and a break with tradition where everything seemed possible. Artists, poets and writers adopted an increasingly experimental and innovative approach to their work leading to significant movements such as Dada, Surrealism, Expressionism and Art Deco. For 2021 members have been invited to showcase something of this ‘joie de vivre’ in their work and see what possibilities arise. 

Sigrid Kirk says of the show, “What struck me was the capacity for artists to explore and push in so many directions and while much of the sculpture deals with serious issues there is also a wonderful and palpable sense of mad play. These are objects that are going to be fun to look at and live with."

Exhibiting artists: Madi Acharya-Baskerville, Simon Allison, Nicola Anthony, Helen Barff, Lucy Barlow, Mark Beattie, Maurice Blik, Lise Bouissière, Clare Burnett, John Clark, David Cooper, Dido Crosby, Lynn Dennison, Chris Dunseath, Emma Elliott, Nicole Farhi, Jill Gibson, Cheryl Gould, Camilla Hanney, Alexandra Harley, Neil Hedger, Joseph Hillier, Steve Hines, Linda Hubbard, Dilys Jackson, Andrew Kearney, Clare Kenny, Millie Laing-Tate, Sandra Lane, Hywel Livingstone, Briony Marshall, Melissa Murray, Christy Symington, Almuth Tebbenhoff, Sarah Villeneau, Sheila Vollmer, Poppy Whatmore, Emma Woffenden.

Open 28 June - 19 September, Monday to Friday, 11am - 5pm (plus Saturdays from 10 July, 12 - 5pm). Free entry, no need to book.